2016 VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN S VIN WVGBV7AXXGW594243

This Volkswagen Tiguan S is a 2016 model, finished in white. The fuel is petrol. The drivetrain combines an automatic gearbox with all-wheel drive. Every figure for this car is given as it appears in the source data.

The car was recorded with 119,863 miles on the clock. A clock converted from miles to kilometres should be documented, since the swap can hide the true mileage. A later figure lower than an earlier one points to a replaced instrument cluster or an odometer that has been wound back. A service book or a folder of workshop invoices is the simplest place to find past readings.

Primary damage in the record: hail. Two cars with the same damage label can be very different: one needs a few new parts, the other major work. With hail damage on file, the inspection should start with the roof, bonnet and boot lid, and the glass.

The car is recorded as running and driving. A key is on file for the car. Running condition describes a single moment, and standing or work done since can change it.

Title status in the record: salvage. At some point in its life, the car was declared a total loss. The structure and the quality of any work done deserve a thorough inspection on a car with a branded title.

A car’s history is everything logged against it since it left the factory: registrations and owners, inspections, repairs and insurance claims. Pieces of a car’s history sit with registries, dealers, workshops and insurance companies, and none of them sees the whole picture. Much of a car’s past cannot be seen: a good body repair leaves no obvious mark, and neither do years of hard driving.

On a petrol engine, a rough idle, misfires or a warning light on the dashboard need looking into. The automatic gearbox should respond smoothly and without delay; jerks, slipping or hesitation on a test drive need investigating. Drive to all four wheels means more to maintain: differentials and couplings have oil of their own, which some manufacturers want changed at set intervals.

Stamped into the body and printed on a plate, the VIN is the one identifier that stays with a car through every owner, registration and repair. The record gives the VIN as WVGBV7AXXGW594243. Scratches, fresh paint or a replaced plate around the VIN markings are warning signs in their own right.

A VIN report gathers what different sources know about a car, such as the number of owners, mileage readings, damage and any branded title. A history report says nothing about the car’s present condition: the frame, corrosion, electrics and the quality of any repair are judged on a lift by a mechanic. With this 2016 Volkswagen Tiguan S, the first step is a look at the history behind VIN WVGBV7AXXGW594243.